MAY 8, 2025 – International visitors involved in emergency preparedness and crisis response came to the Pentagon today to learn more about the National Guard.
The visit was part of a larger trip to understand emergency preparedness, management, planning, funding and coordination among federal, state and local government organizations, as well as the private sector.
The State Department’s long-standing International Visitor Leadership Program began in 1940 as a way to advance national security strategy priorities and build long-term relationships between Americans and international leaders in government, business, academia and other fields.
In Washington, participants in this IVLP trip — which runs through May 24, 2025 — met mostly with federal organizations. At the Pentagon, they learned how the National Guard provides support to their states, neighboring states, the federal government, and other nations as part of the State Partnership Program.
During an hourlong briefing, the participants learned how the guard responds to hurricanes, floods, wildfires and tornadoes, as well as how, through the Emergency Management Assistance Compact, it provides assistance to other states.
Part of the discussion involved the guard operations from 2024. Last year, more than 800,000 personnel days were used to support border missions, 927 personnel days were used for search and rescue missions, more than 5,000 personnel days were used for severe weather emergencies, and 154,000 personnel days were used for wildfire-related missions.
The SPP was of special interest to about half the participants, whose own nations have program agreements with the guard units.
Within the program, state National Guards partner with the militaries of U.S. partner allies — about 115 total. The program supports the security cooperation objectives of the U. S. and geographic combatant commands by developing enduring relationships with partner countries and carrying out activities to build partner capacity, improve interoperability, and enhance relations, while increasing the readiness of the U.S. and partner forces to meet emerging challenges.
Josephina Chan Ting, principal disaster risk reduction officer from the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment in Samoa, was one of the participants.
Samoa doesn’t have a military of its own, but the nation partnered with the Nevada National Guard through the SPP, and Chan Ting said it’s a valuable asset for the island nation.
“I think for us specifically, from my experience, because we’re so involved and engaged with the National Guard partnership program, it’s quite beneficial for us,” she said. “It’s really getting that exposure to expertise. So, with the program currently, what we’re doing is emphasizing that subject matter expert exchange, where we have the National Guard come over to Samoa and we share best practices.”
Previously, the guard in Nevada partnered only with Samoa’s police force and fire and emergency services. However, that has expanded to include the disaster management office.
After finishing this trip, Chan Ting said she’s very interested in coordination, standard operating procedures and preplanning so everyone knows their role when an event occurs.
“I want to take that back to Samoa,” she said. “Ultimately, it’s really important to have that discussion during the preparedness and prevention phase before we actually respond because once we respond, if we have everything aligned, the transition should be efficient, and the response should be efficient as well.”
Ahmed Mohammed serves as a police officer and branch manager of information on command and control systems with the Abu Dhabi Police General Headquarters in the United Arab Emirates.
He said he was impressed with the independence of organizations like the guard.
“Each organization knows its roles and responsibilities and … which phases it comes [in at] regarding responding to an incident or an emergency,” he said. “I was amazed by the National Guard, how independent they are, and how they know their specific roles and responsibilities.”
The UAE recently established its own concept, which is similar to the guard.
“National Guard is a new concept for us in the UAE,” he said. “But today I saw how smoothly National Guard here in the states works and how independent and authorized [they are] to go through any incident with the support of their governor, on the local phase, and on the federal level. The program is amazing, and it’s fruitful.”
The independence of agencies like the guard, and how emergency response agencies coordinate with each other, are topics he said he’ll take back with him to discuss with his own leadership.
By C. Todd Lopez, DOD News